LARAMIE – The Wyoming Cowgirls host the Super 16 Round of the WNIT on Friday at 6:30 p.m., welcoming South Dakota to their home court.
Friday’s game will be aired live on the Mountain West Network and broadcast across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle providing commentary. You can listen to the game on KUGR at 104.9 FM and 1490 AM.
Wyoming (17-14) secured an 80-64 victory over UTSA on Sunday in the second round of the WNIT. Malene Pedersen matched her career-best performance with 24 points, marking her first 20-point game of the season and the third of her career. Off the bench, McKinley Dickerson contributed 16 points, including nine in the opening quarter, surpassing 1,000 career points and becoming the 29th member of the exclusive club in program history.
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The Cowgirls facilitated 21 assists on 28 made field goals against the Roadrunners, with Emily Mellema providing a career-high seven assists. Allyson Fertig notched her fourth double-double in the last five games, scoring 17 points and seizing a game-high 10 rebounds. Fertig also led UW with four blocks in the victory.
With the win, Wyoming improved to 21-10 all-time in the WNIT. Fertig leads the team for the season with an average of 13.8 points per game, shooting just under 60% from the field. She also averages 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Mellema and Ola Ustowska share the team lead with 94 assists each on the year. Pedersen ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per contest.
South Dakota is spearheaded by two-time First Team All-Summit honoree Grace Larkins, averaging 16.6 points per game. Larkins also leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game, along with a team-high 174 assists (5.0 APG) and 56 steals. Kendall Holmes, named to the All-Newcomer Team in the Summit, scores 11.4 points per contest.
USD scores an average of 71.4 points per game while conceding just over 64 points per game. They shoot at a 43% clip, including nearly 33% from beyond the arc. South Dakota opponents shoot at 39.3% and under 28% from 3-point range. USD has a rebounding advantage of plus-5.7 this season and averages more than three assists per game compared to its opponents. However, they do commit more turnovers than their opponents (-2.2). South Dakota holds a 7-5 record in true road games this season and is 10-8 overall away from home.
The Cowgirls hold a 2-3 all-time record against the Coyotes and emerged victorious in their last encounter, a 69-62 overtime win in December 2016. Wyoming maintains an undefeated record of 2-0 against South Dakota at home.
